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MIDEM, the international music industry convention, and its digitally focused MidemNet Forum will open shop Jan. 23-27 in Cannes. The events will draw some 10,000 executives from nearly 100 countries, [...]

MILAN -- Facing deepening I isolation from a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, Roby Perissin, a medical marketing specialist by day and Latin jazz bassist by night, broke the monotony with a [...]

Filippo Sugar, the only child of Piero Sugar and Caterina Caselli, represents the third generation in the remarkable Sugar dynasty. Born in 1971, he started working for the company's retail […]

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli chose the romantic setting of his family villa on the Tuscan coast to unveil his newest album, 'Andrea,' with an Oct. 27 media launch and an […]

On a sunny morning in late August, Billboard met with Andrea Bocelli at his large villa on the Tuscan coast. It was toward the end of Italy's holiday season, and […]

Although many commentators considered 2001 wasn't the greatest year for house/electronica product, dance remains by far the most popular specialist music radio format in Europe, with most stations successfully tapping […]

The big hitters The year 2001 was a great one for Vasco Rossi, whose album Stupido Hotel (EMI) sold 750,000 units in Italy. Rossi was also showered with prizes during [...]

According to Filippo Sugar, MD of Sugar, Italy's most famous and successful indie label, 'for us the situation is different. Whereas the problem for the majors is one of the [...]

On the fast taxi ride from the Nice airport to the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, a MIDEM attendee once quipped that many music companies at this annual convention seemed [...]

Many consider the most entertaining breakfast show in Italy at the moment to be Radio 105's Lo Zoo di 105, broadcast 07.00-10.00 weekdays from the CHR network's studios in Milan. […]

MILAN -- An unprecedented decision by Universal Music Italy and EMI/Virgin not to enter their acts in the Giovani (young artists) section of next year's prestigious Sanremo Song Festival, could [...]

MILAN -- With three awards each, MILAN rock veteran Vasco Rossi and English-language singer Elisa were the big winners in the second official Italian Music Awards, held at Milan's Rolling […]

To enter your domestic album chart at number one and M&M's European Top 100 Albums at number 12 is some achievement. To do so with a Best Of package when […]

Laura Pausini, one of the few Italian artists to achieve impressive sales in foreign territories, looks set to continue her success with The Best of Laura Pausini (CGD East West/Warner [...]

Universal Music Italy Star Goes Global By Offering New Disc In Three Languages MILAN--When Shake--the new Polydor album by Universal Music Italy's domestic superstar Zucchero--appeared Sept. 14, there was little [...]

LONDON -- Just how far are radio stations prepared to go in the race to be "the first"? In recent weeks, new singles from Michael Jackson and Britney Spears both […]

Luciano Pavarotti has been acquitted of tax evasion following a one-month trial in his hometown of Modena, Italy. The opera star, who had been accused of owing the government $18 [...]

MILAN -- "Our objective is to make this one of the biggest albums in music history and Andrea's biggest record ever." A bold statement of intent from Universal Music International […]

MILAN -- The man with Italian radio's "golden" touch has high hopes for his latest oldies radio project. Gianluca Costella -- a freelance radio consultant and Milanese radio veteran who […]

The general mood of the Italian music industry has been gloomy of late, with established artists achieving only modest sales figures. But now and then, a new act comes along [...]

LONDON--It was a very British coup. On Sunday, Oct. 14, Eric Nicoli and Ken Berry had arranged to meet in London. Before the day's end, the worldwide music industry grapevine [...]

The second Italian Music Awards will be held in Milan at the end of November. The awards--organized by local trade body FIMI--will be staged in the same year as the [...]

MILAN -- With his tenth album, under new management and without his trademark hat, Zucchero is expected to turn in strong sales for Universal Music Italy. The label says it […]

MILAN -- Despite poor overall music sales figures for the first half of 2001 (see On The Beat, this page), the consensus in Italy after this year's Festivalbar is that […]

MILAN -- The ongoing saga of who represents who in the Italian music business seems finally to have been resolved. From now on, FIMI will be the official representative of […]

Italy's record industry suffered a 9.4% drop in unit shipments and a 5.6% decline in value during the first six months of 2001, according to major-labels body FIMI. Unit sales [...]

LONDON--While the recent terrorist attacks were aimed at devastating the U.S., what became clear within hours of the atrocities was that citizens worldwide were affected by the tragedy. Thousands of [...]

The Sanremo Festival may be the traditional highlight of the Italian music calendar, but in recent years its organisers have shown a remarkable capacity for missing a winner, especially in […]

London--Star opera couple Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna perform the lead roles in a new £1.5 million ($2.25 million) television presentation of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, filmed in the U.K. [...]

Sydney--Although classical music accounts for only 1.5% of the Australian music market, the country has produced a line of internationally recognized guitarists, including John Williams, Slava Grigoryan and Gareth Koch. [...]

London--'Has Peru produced the next Pavarotti?' So asked a headline in the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper after a January recital here by Juan Diego Florez, the young Peruvian tenor who will [...]

Hamburg--This summer's Bayreuth Festival has provided a unique European showcase for American tenor Robert Dean Smith, who has pulled the hat trick of performing in lead roles in three Wagner [...]

Milan--At age 76, pianist Aldo Ciccolini is 'an institution,' declares Giovanni Bettin, head of Phoenix Classics, a small independent label based in the northeastern Italian town of Montebelluno. Bettin has [...]

In a country where the music industry remains fiercely loyal to older artists, the most impressive online campaigns are often devoted to veterans. One of this year's bit albums has […]

More than 30 consumers of pirated CDs and video games in Italy received individual fines of 300,000 lire ($150) during June and July, as the focus of the fight against [...]

Italy's state-owned RAI TV has announced that next year's Sanremo Festival, traditionally the central event in the country's music calendar, will be hosted by veteran presenter Pippo Baudo. Baudo will [...]

Despite selling mare than 12 million records, Eiffel 65 have adopted a low-key approach to the July 20 launch of new album Contact! (Bliss Corporation/WEA). The Turin-based dance pop act's […]

Stefano Senardi, president and founder of Italy's NuN Entertainment, was awarded the title of record company manager of the year at Rock Targato Italia, an annual get-together of predominantly indie [...]

MILAN -- A radio ad promoting Manu Chao's album Proxima Estacion: Esperanza (Virgin) has become the subject of an Italian police investigation. On July 12, members of Italy's Guardia di […]

RICCARDO CLARY, president of EMI Italy, is a big soccer fan. So when his favorite team, Roma, won thi year's Italian championship, he decided to mix business with pleasure. The [...]

"Ein, Zwei, Drei, Fier." Perhaps not the most imaginative lyrics for a German act to open an album with, but quite stunning from an Italian band. The group in question […]

MILAN -- Italy's radio sector is hoping that the country's newly-elected centre-right government headed by Silvio Berlusconi will not turn its back on the previous administration's plans to get digital […]